


I'll Keep You Warm

by Authorexx



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: A glimmer of romance, Camping, Camping trip?, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, It's glamping tbh, Slightly established Rollisi but not exactly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 03:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30133221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Authorexx/pseuds/Authorexx
Summary: A romantic weekend getaway disguised as a work-related bonding activity.
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Amanda Rollins
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	I'll Keep You Warm

It was framed as a partner trust exercise sponsored by the department, but from how everybody talked about it, it sounded more like a nice weekend away upstate. To say that Amanda and Sonny had jumped at the chance was an understatement. Carisi was genuinely excited; he couldn’t stop talking with Amanda on the drive up about similar camping trips he’d taken as a Boy Scout and later an Eagle Scout as a teenager. “We’d usually camp with tents, though, so this is almost too nice,” he said, shrugging, “It’s gonna be a piece of cake.”

Amanda concealed her eyeroll from behind a pair of dark sunglasses. “Says you. I haven’t been on a hike since I was a kid.” She’d been nursing her coffee from the bodega near the precinct since they’d started their journey that morning, but no amount of caffeine would help the growing headache that came with Sonny’s seemingly incessant cheeriness. Despite this, she was grateful for the time away from the confines of the city—this was the closest she’d come to a vacation in eons.

“You’ll be fine,” Sonny said, waving a hand dismissively. “I don’t think the trails up there are very tough anyhow.” He glanced over briefly to see Amanda downing the last of her coffee. “You wanna stop someplace for lunch?”

“’Long as it’s something that’ll agree with me,” Amanda said, sighing. “But I’m not expecting much this far out. I’ll look something up.” She pulled her phone from her bag and frowned, her eyes narrowing. “There really is a whole lot of nothin’ up here, huh?”

“What, no service?” Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow.

Amanda nodded. “We’re probably stuck until we get to the cabin.”

“Nah, this is the same route we’d take when I was an Eagle Scout. If memory serves, there’s a great place in a couple exits with the best ham sandwich you’ve ever had.” Sonny smiled and adjusted his grip on the wheel, suddenly filled with a sort of childlike glee. “Trust me, Rollins, you won’t regret it.”

Amanda cocked her head to one side, “What, you talking up a sandwich _without_ salami and pepperoni on it? I’m shocked.” If there was one thing she could count on from Sonny, it was his enthusiasm… and that smile. It was infectious—she felt a grin creep onto her face as she settled back into her chair, turning to look out the window as the pines began to rise up around them. “You used to get out here once a month?”

“In the summer and fall, yeah,” Sonny replied, nodding, “when there was good weather. ‘Cept one time when I was fourteen and we got pounded by a huge storm.” He laughed and ran a hand through his hair, “We were all sleepin’ in the scoutmaster’s cabin that night.”

Amanda giggled at the thought of a scrawny, teenage Sonny drenched by rain in his scouting uniform. The mental image was soon whisked away as Sonny let out an exclamation of surprise.

“Here! This is the stop.” Sonny guided the car off the exit ramp, navigating through the tiny town they’d arrived in. “We can get it to go.” He pulled up to the shop in question and threw the car into park, already anticipating their lunch.

They entered the shop and were greeted by a cheery lady behind the counter. “Hey there, what can we do for ya?”

“Ah, just two ham sandwiches, please,” Sonny said, grinning at Amanda. “To go, if you don’t mind.”

They had their food and were back on the road before long, and Sonny glanced over at Amanda expectantly. “Try it,” he said, giving an encouraging smile. “C’mon, you’ll like it.”

Amanda was concentrating on squeezing a mustard packet onto her sandwich as Sonny started the car. “Hang on, lemme finish it.” She closed the sandwich and took a bite, nodding decisively. _“Okay,”_ she said, her eyebrows raising in surprise. “I get it. That’s pretty good.”

Sonny held his along with the steering wheel. “I know. It’s cheaper than your local deli, but you wouldn’t know it.”

Shortly after they’d finished their sandwiches, they arrived at the cabin. “Oh my God, Sonny, look at the view!” Amanda jumped out of the car, lifting her weekend bag from its spot at her feet. “This is amazing.”

Sonny opened the trunk and produced his own bag, following Amanda to the cabin. “What should we do first?”

“Ever heard of unpacking?” Amanda laughed, slotting the key they’d been given into the door of the cabin. “We’ll get the lay of the land later.”

“Well, if we go on the hike,” Sonny said, catching up to Amanda at the door, “I’ll bring my field guide to plants. I dunno how familiar you are with New York foliage.”

There was a cozy kitchen that opened into a comfortable living space, and two doors on the far wall—likely two bedrooms. “Oh, this is so cute,” Amanda breathed, rushing over to the window to throw the curtains open. “The view from here is perfect too!”

Sonny followed, closing the door behind them. “It is.” They began unpacking, idly chatting about their plans for a hike before sundown. “I can bring a flashlight, ya know, just in case,” Sonny called, pulling on a comfier shirt for the hike. “You can never be too careful.”

Amanda appeared in the doorway with a grin—had she been watching him? “You’re thinkin’ too much about this; let’s just go.”

“Alright, but you’re carrying the flashlight,” Sonny said, offering it to Amanda, “I want to have my camera ready in case we see anything out here.”

They found the start of the trail and headed out, only stopping for Sonny to snap a couple pictures of the wildlife or any plants. Every so often, he’d pause and fish in his bag for the well-loved copy of his Boy Scout field guide to identify any interesting flower Amanda would point out. His zeal didn’t go unnoticed—Amanda began to ask about any new plant they’d see along the trail—some of which Sonny could identify without even referencing the guide altogether. She smiled, continuing along, finding his scouting knowledge far more endearing than she’d first thought.

They were passing by a clearing when Sonny stopped. “Oh, ‘Manda, don’t move—” he whispered, reaching for her arm. “Don’t move.” He lifted his camera, concentrating. “There’s a doe over there. Don’t spook her.”

Amanda held her breath as she peered through the tree line to spot the aforementioned deer. It lifted its head, and she heard Sonny breathe in a quiet gasp as his camera shutter clicked.

“Wait; don’t move, don’t move; there’s more,” Sonny whispered. Another rustle came from deeper in the forest, and a buck emerged. The camera let out another flurry of clicks as Sonny aimed at the other animal, tracking its path as it moved to stand behind the doe.

Sonny straightened, tapping Amanda’s arm, “Uh, let’s go—” he said hurriedly, looking further down the trail, “let’s go!”

“Why?” Amanda asked, craning her neck to look through the trees, “What’s happening?”

“I-I-I don’t know,” Sonny stuttered, “I didn’t write the guidebook!” A blush rose to his cheeks, and he turned away from the deer, visibly mortified.

Amanda, however, was still watching. “Why is he— _oh._ Poor guy, he’s too tall; he can’t reach.” She snickered, shaking her head.

“Too—” Sonny spluttered, his eyes going wide, “too tall?!”

Amanda continued down the trail, pretending not to notice Sonny’s flustered state. “So you know more about plants than animals, then?”

“I—you might say that.” Sonny said, rubbing the back of his neck. That certainly wasn’t what he’d been anticipating on the hike. They continued in silence for several minutes, making their way up increasingly steep hills. “I didn’t think we’d, uh, run across deer out here. Maybe some birds, if we were lucky.”

“Birds? Now you sound like my grandmama.” Amanda laughed, stopping at the top of another hill. “Oh, wow.”

Sonny caught up, finally getting his blushing under control. “What is it?”

“This sunset,” Amanda said, looking over at Sonny. “This is too unreal.” She turned her eyes back to the sky as the sun began its descent into the hills. It looked like an ever-changing oil painting, a mix of tangerine and pink ridged by wispy lavender and lilac clouds that marked the shift into the deep blue of night. “It’s incredible.”

Sonny smiled, sneaking a glance at Amanda’s face, painted in the same shades of orange from the sky. He snapped a couple pictures of the hills, then backed up, taking a few more shots of Amanda, backlit by the sunset. “We’d better keep going, it’ll get dark soon.”

They arrived back at the cabin with nightfall hot on their heels, and after they both had showered, they began dinner preparations. The kitchen was modestly outfitted, and Sonny had brought along some food to prepare meals. “I’m thinkin’ we could do a bolognese, just so I can cook all the meat tonight,” he mused, picking through the cupboards for the necessary pots and pans.

“You don’t mind me helpin’ a little, do you?” Amanda asked, grinning as she stood beside him at the stove. “I swear I won’t burn it all down.”

Sonny laughed, already starting to brown the beef in the pan. “You’ll be fine. Ah, could you get the pasta from the shelf?” He nodded toward the pantry nearby, and Amanda moved over, reaching up to the little box.

Sonny stole another guilty glance as she reached up, the slightest sliver of tanned skin revealed as her shirt lifted by mere inches, his mind flashing to the one-off night they’d fallen into bed together a few short weeks ago. They’d never acknowledged it, even in private—and even if they would, what could he say? He blinked and shook his head, returning his thoughts to the pan to his side, pretending he’d been watching the water start to boil as Amanda returned.

The pasta came together quickly, and they sat down to eat in the adjacent room, hearing the sounds of a nighttime breeze whip around the cabin. “That’s fierce out there. You think it’ll get cold?” Amanda asked, twirling another forkful of pasta around on her plate.

Sonny shrugged and chewed thoughtfully. “It—” he swallowed, then cleared his throat, “it’s possible. I hope there’s enough blankets up here.”

“Why, you wanna take mine?” Amanda joked, raising an eyebrow, “You definitely did the other week.”

Sonny coughed—this was the first time Amanda had even acknowledged what happened. “I—I get cold; that’s all,” he mumbled, slowly turning as red as the sauce on his pasta. “I was starting to think I’d dreamt the whole thing, though.”

Amanda sighed, putting her plate down on the coffee table. “Look… I didn’t want to make it weird. I try to keep work and… _that…_ separate. And we’re not at work.”

Sonny considered her words in silence, nodding. “We’re just… two people. Here for the weekend.”

“Glad we understand each other,” Amanda said, picking up her plate to finish dinner.

They finished dinner and returned to the kitchen, settling into a rhythm—Sonny would wash; Amanda would dry. “You wanna play cards or somethin’?” Amanda asked over the white noise of the tap.

“Nah, I’m beat,” Sonny said, sighing. “Travel takes it outta me. And we’d better get up early to go on another trail—more birds will be around.”

“You and these _birds,”_ Amanda chuckled, wiping down the last dish. “Next you’re gonna tell me you’re a card-carrying Audubon Society member.”

“And what if I was?” Sonny asked, giving a mock-annoyed look. “They do good work... I assume.”

Amanda snapped the dish rag at him, swatting his shoulder. “You are just too _much,_ Sonny Carisi.”

“You callin’ me an overachiever?” Sonny said, his eyes twinkling as he smiled over at her, unknowingly sending a delicate tingle down her spine.

Amanda set her jaw, holding back a matching grin. “I guess it’s time for bed, then.”

They both proceeded to their respective bedrooms in the cabin and bid one another good night, and the cabin went dark.

Minutes later, Sonny was pulled from the space between dreams and reality by a knocking on his bedroom door. He slid out of bed with a groan and staggered to the door. “’Manda?” he asked, barely able to open his eyes.

“I—” Amanda shifted from foot to foot, wrapped in the blankets and quilts from the other bed. “I think there’s a draft in my room. Can I sleep here?”

Sonny blinked, realizing he wasn’t dreaming. “Oh, ah… yeah, c’mon, you’re gonna freeze…”

They both shuffled to the bed, situating the extra set of blankets on top of the current layer and settling in to sleep. “Mm…” Amanda sighed contentedly, “toasty.”

Sonny closed his eyes again, smiling to himself at the sound of her voice in the dark. “Yeah,” he whispered, “I’ll keep you warm.”


End file.
